With lessons increasing each year I have noticed something in common with the majority of the students.  When I first meet them they do not grasp the concept of aiming and most often they confuse the point of contact with the point of aim!  For this article we will focus on this aspect and would now like to draw your attention to Diagram ìAî.

                Diagram ìAî shows a typical cut shot.  For our purposes we will assume that the shot will be attempted using only center ball English.  Also keep in mind that any cut shot to the right can have a mirror image to the left.  Youíll notice that the diagram shows the paths of the cue ball and object ball, point of contact, point of aim, positions of cue ball prior to the shot and at the time of impact with the object ball.

                The tool that I share with my students is the concept of the cue ball frozen to the object ball at the time of impact.  In ìByrneís Standard Book of Pool & Billiardsî Robert Byrne refers to this as an imaginary ball.  I present this concept to my students and it is easily seen from their expression that they understand.  Please notice when the imaginary ball is frozen to the object ball at the point of contact that you can draw a line between the center of the imaginary ball through the center of the object ball and where it comes out is the path the object ball will take to the pocket.

                I find that most novice players make their mistakes when they confuse the point of contact as their target instead of the point of aim.  In essence, they forget about the radius of the cue ball.  This is where visualizing Mr. Byrneís imaginary ball will allow you to identify the point of aim or as Diagram ìAî illustrates the center of the imaginary ball.  Some things to keep in mind regarding the physical relationship of these two points are as follows; 1) The greater the angle of the cut shot the greater the distance between the point of contact and the point of aim.  2) When shooting a straight shot (No Angle) the point of contact and point of aim are the same.

The line, which connects cue ball centers from the position prior to shot and at the point of contact position, is your aim or the path that the cue ball will travel.  Notice that when you extend this line from the center of the imaginary ball through the cue ball position prior to our shot that this also represents your cue stick alignment.  Keeping an eye on your stick alignment prior to shooting allows you to check your aim.

                Practice by setting up different types of cut shots and shoot them until you make each one.  If you miss a particular shot make a mental note as to which side of the pocket the object ball misses and by how much.  This will allow you to work backwards and analyze what you did incorrectly.

Keep shooting straight until next time and remember if there is a subject or a topic that you would like Mr. Billiards to write about, just send e-mail to ThePlayersLeague@home.com. 

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